Oneida Public Library Community Media Lab (video)

ONEIDA -- In its ongoing campaign to inform the community and address questions about the proposed new building for the Oneida Public Library, Assistant Library Director Tom Murray and capital campaign steering committee member Ken Drake spoke at the Dispatch's Community Media Lab Saturday at the Dispatch offices.

"The time is now for our community to step into the 21st century," Drake said. The current 7,822 square-foot structure on Broad Street was built with a future in mind, but Drake said it has since outlived its original intent.

Oneida resident Jim Sweet recently toured the current facility and was amazed at the conditions that he witnessed. "It is important that the inadequacies of this current facilility be made known. Peple may not be aware of how bad the situation is," he said.

Murray said the current facility wasn't built with the handicapped in mind. Overcrowding and the use of both floors limit accessibility for the elderly and parents with very young children. Although the library offers free Wi-Fi services to its patrons, many areas of the facility are not usable due to the brick walls. In addition, space utilization for recreation reading, study, tutoring and class instruction make it difficult to provide the level of services that library patrons now look for.

In a video presentation, Oneida Acting Mayor Max Smith describes how all of the essential services within the city such as schools, hospital, justice center, and others have all been renovated and received significant technological advancements over the last decade -- all except the library.

Drake, who taught performing arts locally for many years, was excited as he explained the benefits of the Community Room which will be part of the new library.

"Many years ago, Oneida had its own community theater. Currently, with less availability of the auditorium at the Oneida High School, local performing arts groups have no plan to practice or perform."

The Community Room would seat 125 people for performances and would also be used for small business and community seminars, teleconferencing and even wedding receptions.

"People who are not necessarily patrons of the library will still be using the Community Room," Drake said.

Speaking about the cost of constructing the 18,000 square-foot project, Murray said total construction is projected at just over $5 million but noted that no funds from the library's current operating budget will be used for the project.

Drake said more than $1 million has already been pledged from individuals, businesses, local and regional foundations and government grants and the official launch of the public campaign is not set to begin until after the first of the year. At that time, the library will reach out to the community with its capital campaign.

Oneida Library Board President Eileen Kinsella said the taxes for those within the library district were carefully considered through every portion of the project.

"By restricting construction to one floor, we will save on energy costs. The wide open design will also give us better security and more visibility, which would not require additional staff for the expanded library space," she said.

While library district taxes are estimated to rise 6 percent, the average household would only see their tax bills rise by $2.50 per year under the long-term operating budget.

Oneida Library Foundation member Susanne Miller said Oneida needs a larger, more modern library that can provide programs and services into the 21st century.

"The need is greater now than ever before," she said. "We cannot say no to people trying to get a GED, to people trying to improve themselves, to children trying to find resources not available to them elsewhere and to those who rely on us for so many other services."

The preliminary stages of the project have been completed by the architects of Holmes-King-Kallquist & Associates out of Syracuse. The library currently plans on opening the facility in spring 2014.